Sister, Sister

Jackie & Molly Hanna

May 14, 2013

Rower Jackie Hanna will
face her twin sister at the Patriot League
Championship.

By Kelsey HortonSpecial to GoHolyCross.com

Imagine you are rowing for your
team's varsity eight for the Patriot League championship. You are
at the beginning of the course, anxiously waiting for the start gun
to go off. Out of your peripherals you see Navy's boat. They placed
third last year in the Championships, your boat trailed in fourth.
This alone would have your heart racing. Now imagine, that Navy
wasn't just your competition. In fact, the rower in their bow seat
has been your biggest competitor since birth. How is that possible?
Well, you are about to race your twin sister.

This is what is going to happen for
sophomore rower Jackie
Hanna (Annapolis, Md.) on May 17 on Lake Quinsigamond.
Her and her twin sister Molly will be competing for their
respective varsity eight teams, both rowing in the bow seat.

"It's funny because it really shows
how similar we are in skill and ability," said Jackie. "In high
school, we usually rowed as a pair, so one of us would either be in
front or behind the other one which worked out well. We never
competed for the same seat, but we were always very competitive
outside the boat when we compared erg scores."

When it was time to think about
college they struggled with the decision of whether or not to go to
the same school. Growing up only a few miles away from the
Naval Academy had an impact on their college search. "We have
always been around the Naval Academy and it was always on our lists
of prospective schools," said Jackie. "We visited Holy Cross
together and both really loved it. I knew after the visit that it
was where I wanted to go but the Naval Academy was always number
one for Molly." Although they chose different life paths Jackie
shows nothing but support. "I have so much admiration for what she
does at the Naval Academy, and though our college experiences are
very different, we know we made the right decisions in the
end."

While their college experience may
be very different, rowing is certainly one thing that they are able
to share. "Because we both know what the other is going through we
are able to support and encourage one another to do our best," said
Jackie. She adds that the healthy competition between her and her
sister has made her a better rower. "Molly has always been a
bit faster than me on the erg," Jackie admits. "That just motivates
me to keep pushing myself to be better, and beat her."

It goes without saying that Navy's
Molly Hanna is used to experiencing some extreme competition as she
attends the top naval institution in the country. Yet, she
describes rowing against her twin as one of the most intense
experiences she has faced. "Looking over and seeing your sister in
the boat next to you, someone you know better than anyone else and
feel so connected to but now are pitted against, in that moment
takes the pre-race hype to a new level," she said. "You know how
hard she has worked and that she has the same exact goal as you: to
win." Molly adds that "flipping the switch" is easy. "We put aside
wins and losses and go back to being normal sisters and each
other's biggest supporters."

"At the end of the day, although we
are rivals, we don't let that get in the way of our friendship,"
said Jackie. "I'm always rooting for her and she's always rooting
for me. If Holy Cross can't win I choose Navy to win, every
time."